Friday, December 7, 2018

Withdrawal of CAN: the Anglophones rebel!

The highly disputed decision of the CAF did not leave indifferent the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, despite the armed struggle between secessionists and forces of the Cameroonian Republican army.

The proof of this is that the country's English-language press has dedicated a prominent place to it, and in doing so, this segment of Cameroonian society has knowingly or unconsciously affirmed its attachment to "one and indivisible" Cameroon. Journal The Sun, for example, blatantly accuses Caf of stabbing Cameroon: "The Caf stabs Cameroon. It strips the country of the accommodation rights of the competition despite all the assurances given previously and the knowledge acquired. The newspaper Eden for its part exclaims: "The Caf dupe Cameroon: it strips the country of accommodation rights at the conclave of Ghana".

The Guardian Post wonders who should take responsibility for what has happened and goes further by recommending to the government that "heads must fall because of what it calls" national shame ". The Post adopts a socio-psychological attitude by announcing that Cameroonians "cry and celebrate" the withdrawal. This thesis and antithesis of the newspaper is explained by the different points of view of two people interviewed. One says, "I want to think that there is something greater than the withdrawal of the rights of Cameroon.No country has ever been one hundred percent ready before a competition, even if it was the World Cup. I think Cameroon should have had another chance. " The respondent explains: "The Caf did not do well.

The government borrowed huge sums of money to make the event well organized.

It is not only the government that will suffer, but also the private sector, because businessmen have invested a lot in the expectation of this competition. So who will now compensate them for all losses? "The other interviewee is pleased with the decision of the CAF: "I am very happy that Cameroon does not organize the event.

The CAF made a good decision because Cameroon needed time to solve its internal problems. The country has the Anglophone problem that has been going on for more than two years, but without solution. And besides, we are not even prepared yet in terms of roads and hotels.If we were serious about this competition, we would have started preparing ourselves five years ago, when the rights to welcome him had just been conferred on us. It's really shameful! "

Reasons

The Star newspaper focuses on the reasons for the decision of the CAF:" Insecurity forces the Caf to deprive Cameroon of its accommodation rights: petitions emanating from Ambazonians , a member of the US Congress and security reports from the Caf helped to nail Cameroon. These are unfinished stadiums and roads, as well as the epileptic supply of electricity that also contributed to the bomb of the Caf. "The Star questions the sincerity of the president of the Caf:" What is -what Ahmad Ahmad had in mind when he gave assurances to Mr. Paul Biya after two delegations CAF had visited Cameroon and were gone, confident he had seen and approved their reports?

for greater certainty, Ahmad sent a congratulatory letter to Paul Biya, when he was declared the winner of the 2018 presidential elections. "However, the paper itself answers its own question by piercing the mystery that seems to characterize the president's about-face. of the Caf: "While the honeymoon was between Biya and his government on the one hand, and Ahmad Ahmad on the other hand, the Consortium of civil society of South Cameroon (Scascs), based abroad and directed by John Mbah Akuro, has Addressed an energetic petition to the CAF President on 6 October 2018 to request the cancellation of the African Cup of Nations that Cameroon had been invited to host in 2019. The petition was co-signed by lawyers Andang Godfred Ndeh and Mawum Fru Che, all based abroad.

They painted a very dark picture of English-speaking Cameroon and explained why Cameroon should not host the competition, mainly because of the lack of security in the English-speaking regions.Some Cameroonians sympathizing with the current crisis have also requested the services of a US Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, who sent a letter on October 15, 2018 to Fifa President Gianni Infantino, requesting a review of the previous decision on the holding of the competition in Cameroon, given the insecurity in some areas of the country.

Copies of the Congressman's letter were sent to US Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo and CAF President Ahmad Ahmad. The information was widely circulated on social networks. All spoke against Cameroon, the host country of the African Cup of Nations, in a shocking way and without damage control. "However, The Star notes that the last The drop that really broke the camel was elsewhere: "It's the damning report of the CAF security team that went to Cameroon.

While the members of the team were in Cameroon, they smiled and gave guarantees to the Cameroonian government. Yet, they had already decided that the country would no longer host the games because this country was not in their eyes, ready and had to do much more in terms of preparations.

Embarrassment

TheVoice newspaper has chosen to dwell on what he calls "the embarrassment" caused to Paul Biya by the decision of the Caf. The paper comments: "Call this the biggest embarrassment of the president in front of the world stage and you would be absolutely right. Only a few weeks after Paul Biya boasted that he would be organizing the prestigious 2019 edition of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, that dream collapsed. The 15 members of the CAF Executive Committee all voted in favor of withdrawing Cameroon's accommodation rights at the big international event.

Apart from the lack of preparedness from the country that should have hosted the games in just a few months, insecurity from the English-speaking regions was a cause for sufficient concern for the CAF and the governments of the participating countries. The pressure exerted by outside forces to deprive Cameroon of its accommodation rights was tremendously immense. The secessionist activists of Southern Cameroons submitted petitions to the CAF in which they warned that the safety of players and officials was not guaranteed.

These are warnings that the government of Paul Biya ignored in the same way that he ignored the persuasions of the United Nations, Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group and the international community for the establishment by the government of a genuine and inclusive dialogue with the leaders of the secessionists.

Now, look where it led Cameroon. If it is not a sanction of Paul Biya's regime for not having solved the crisis, what could it be?

How did it happen that, aside from the leadership of this country, everyone was aware of the need for an urgent round table to resolve the crisis? "The Guardian Post newspaper tells the story of the withdrawal by the CAF from the point of view of the government's inability to resolve the Anglophone crisis which subsequently led to insecurity that raised eyebrows at the Caf.

The paper asks Paul Biya to dismiss his advisers on the Anglophone crisis. In an article entitled Who is responsible? The Guardian Post says: "The news of the withdrawal of the African Cup of Nations from the hands of Cameroon has met with mixed reactions. While some Cameroonians have described the decision as biased, many people think that some authorities responsible for overseeing the competition have not done their job well.

The newspaper Ngah Christian Mbipngo pursues its logic: "Prime Minister Philemon Yang, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Ismael Bidoung Mkpatt, his colleague in charge of Urban Development, Jean Claude Mbwentchou, the Minister of Public Works Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi , and the Minister of Tourism, Bello Bouba Maigari are among those cited as likely to have failed to ensure the rapid completion of various related projects. The head of state and his collaborators have also been accused of failing to respond adequately to the escalation of the armed conflict in English-speaking Cameroon, which has in part resulted in the withdrawal of housing rights. "

A hotelier, joined by phone in the city of Limbe, we made the following statement: "This decision of the Caf, we can no longer questionable, comes upset all the budget forecasts that the State of Cameroon and other economic operators had made for the year 2019. But first and foremost, this is the leakage of revenue that we in the hospitality industry would have made if the CAF had met the deadline. "

The North-West Senator, Kemende Henry Gamsey, that we also contacted by phone, told us this: "I am totally disappointed, I think we have been betrayed by the typical and absolute bad governance of the Cameroonian government. In a civilized world, the entire government would have resigned as a result of this despicable act.There has been no other shame in Cameroon than the one we have just suffered from the CAF.